People
are what make the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences an
extraordinary organization. Our College is home to an amazingly
talented collection of scientists, teachers, research technicians
and support staff. I am extremely proud of these people and the
work they do. They are spread across our state, working to make
North Carolina a better place in which to live.

Bryce Lane,
left, and Dean Oblinger escorted N.C. State Chancellor Marye
Anne Fox on a recent tour of the JC Raulston Arboretum. Lane
was interim arboretum director. Since then, a new arboretum director
has been named. See related story for
details.

But as talented and innovative as
our people are, we cannot do what we do alone. It is absolutely
essential that we collaborate with other organizations and institutions
and form partnerships that allow us to make the most effective
use of our talents.

This issue of Perspectives looks
at some of our partners and the programs were pursuing
with them. We are, for example, pursuing an innovative aquaculture
effort with Carolina Power & Light. With CP&Ls
help, weve built a demonstration facility, called the CP&L
Fish Barn, at the Lake Wheeler Road Field Laboratory.

Also in this issue, youll find an
article about a relatively new partner, the prestigious Keck
Foundation. An $800,000 grant from the foundation has allowed
us to establish the W.M. Keck Behavioral
Biology Program. This program may lead to new strategies
for controlling agricultural and urban pests and to a better
understanding of complex human behavior.

Id be remiss if I didnt mention
two of our oldest and most valuable partners  the North
Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and
collective county governments throughout the state.

It would take more than an issue of a magazine
to recount the many ways we interact with our states Department
of Agriculture, but one of our more important collaborations
is the system of research
stations weve established across the state. We simply
could not do what we do without these indispensable real-world
laboratories.

Likewise, the North Carolina Cooperative
Extension Service would not be the organization it is without
the collaboration of county
governments and the local governing body on the Cherokee
Indian Reservation. It is this partnership with local governing
bodies that defines the Cooperative Extension Service.

Weve focused on just a few of our
partners in this issue of Perspectives. There are countless
others, and theyre all extraordinarily important because
without them, we couldnt do the important work we do.